The Incredibles: Abraham and His Incredible Faith
Introduction:
Superheroes are really exciting to watch and to read about, especially as a kid. Sadly we all grow up and realize that what they could do is not humanly possible. Sometimes we read of these great stories in the Bible of these people of great faith and stand in awe of what they could accomplish, how they lived their lives, and the dedication that they has in serving God. These people in the Bible, however, were not gifted with a special superhero gift to live better lives; they were real people who had real struggles. They are great examples for us to follow. Sometimes, however, we read of these people and think we could never achieve their greatness, we think that there is no way we can have their measure of faith, but we must understand that they were just normal people putting their faith into practice. Some of these spiritual giants in the Bible fascinate me, their faith and devotion inspires me, but we must realize that spiritual giants are made, not born. Their faith matured and developed, they went through real problems, but the results was a character shaped by God. We too can have that kind of faith.
Some of these Bible character serve as great example for us to follow. Throughout the Scriptures we have examples of how to trust God, of how to stand strong through temptation, and of how to be faithful in an unfaithful world. I hope that as I said last week that we are not content with where we are in life. I hope we want to grow and mature. I hope we want to change things in our lives. I hope we do not look at our lives and really think that we have mastered our spiritual lives, because it is when we become content with where we are that we come to a danger of falling. In fact the Scripture says, “Let he who thinks he stands, take head lest he falls.” Hopefully anytime you hear a message from God’s Word you are looking into your heart and examining yourself to see where you stand, and how that message might relate to you. One of the best questions a Christian can ask of themselves is, “how does that apply to me, or how do I need to respond”
There are times in my life when I really have to admit that I have a lack of faith or trust in God. We all go through difficult times; we all at times wonder what God is doing or why is he allowing things to happen. Having an unswerving faith and trust in God is not always an easy thing.
This morning I want to look at one example of great faith that we read about in the Bible. When I think of a person that had great faith in God the first person that comes to my mind is Abraham. He had an amazing faith and trust in God. In fact on several occasions we see that faith being put to test and being shown in how he chose to live his life and respond to different situations that he was in. He was told by God when he was old that he would have a child and Abraham by faith believed him. He was told to leave his homeland and move into the promised land and he by faith obeyed. He was told to sacrifice his only son and by faith he trusted God and intended to obey. There are periods in life where faith comes fairly easy. Life may be going good, things may be going smoothly, but it is when things get difficult that faith is really put to the test and it is during those times we show what our faith is made out of. Abraham is a great example to us all of how to have faith in God through thick and thin.
Text: Hebrews 11:8-19
I. Abraham’s Faith Led Him to Follow God’s Calling
God came to Abraham and instructed him to leave his homeland and leave his family and go to a land, which God would show Him. That was Abraham’s calling. Abraham was a man of great faith and that faith led him to follow God’s calling. It is not always easy to trust in where God is calling.
Genesis 12:1
Just like Abraham we have a calling from God. Abraham when he received the calling from God to leave his homeland and his family was living in the Ur of the Chaldees, which means fiery destruction and he was called to go into the Promised Land. We too have been called out of fiery destruction and into the Promised Land. What made Abraham so special, however, wasn’t that his calling was a special one per say, but it was his response to the calling. Abraham was comfortable where he was, he was with his family, he was where he always lived and where he was familiar, he had acquired a lot of things, and life was good in Ur of the Chaldees for Abraham. When he was called to leave that land he was being asked by God to leave all that he had ever known, and to leave where he was comfortable and trust God totally.
Last week we looked at the zeal and the faith of Peter, and Peter did something amazing. He in faith stepped out of the boat. The boat was a much more comfortable and a much safer place to be than to be out in the waves. He had faith and trusted Jesus’ calling to come to him. Abraham’s calling was not necessarily one where if looked at in pure black and white standards would have looked like such a good idea. It was one where Abraham’s financial advisor probably would have discouraged him from doing. He has to leave everything, pack up and move to a place he didn’t know about. Abraham, however, trusted that God would take care of him. For Abraham to listen to that calling he had to have great faith and trust in God.
The question you need to answer today is how are you going to respond to God’s call. Today, God’s call for everyone is the same. I believe that there are two facets of God’s call that we must answer and hopefully submit to like Abraham did.
1. God’s Call to Come to Jesus
One calling that every person on the face of the earth has is God’s invitation to come, follow me. I have heard it said that the command that Jesus uttered more than any other was his call to follow me. That is the same call that the Apostles gave to a world that needed Jesus and that is the same calling that we are confronted with today. For Abraham’s his calling may not have made too much sense, perhaps he didn’t like the idea of sacrificing or giving up anything, but nevertheless, he lived by faith and trusted in God’s faithfulness. I want everyone here to know plainly that God has given every person a calling to come to Him through Jesus Christ. Many people choose to stay put and not listen to God’s calling, but this is clear that God’s calling to come to him is a privilege and an opportunity and not a burden. We are blessed with the opportunity to find salvation in Jesus. Today, God invites you to come to him. What will you do with that calling? Will you leave behind your old self, will you deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Jesus? Will you step out in faith and heed the calling of God to come to Him?
2. God’s Call to Serve Faithfully
Not only does everybody have a calling to come to Jesus, everybody has a calling to serve in the Kingdom of God. Not everybody’s specific role is necessarily the same, but everyone has a calling to be involved. In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable about a man who gave his servants different amounts of talents to watch over. Two of those servants used those talents to gain more for the man, and he told them that they has a job well done and they would be put in charge of more things since they were faithful in a few. The third servant, however, refused to use that talent, and when the man came back from his journey, he called the man a “wicked and lazy man”. That was pretty harsh wasn’t it? What did this man do that deserved such a harsh criticism? I do not think that Better Business Bureau would like the way he was treated. He was called wicked and lazy because he refused to use what he was given. Did you notice how wickedness and laziness or a failure to use what he was given was linked together?
The Scriptures teach plainly that each Christian has been given a talent or gift to use for the up building of the church. Each of us is called to be involved. Our calling is more than just coming to Jesus and stepping out in faith. That faith should lead us to want to be involved. I hope today that you stand behind the mission of the church to reach the world with the message of Jesus. I hope that you want to be involved. I hope that you want to use the talents and the gifts that God has given you.
Today you have two callings from God. First, you have the calling to follow Jesus. You must decide are you going to step out in faith and heed that calling. I will warn you though just as God’s calling demanded sacrifice and leaving his comfort zone, so the calling to be a Christian calls us to leave things behind and that may not be too comfortable, but we must obey in faith. Secondly, you have received a calling to serve. Perhaps today you have obeyed the calling to follow Jesus, but you haven’t the second calling. I want you to know that Jesus doesn’t just call us to be pew warmers, but he calls us to be servants. Will you step out in faith and obey that call.
II. Abraham’s Faith Led Him to Trust God’s Promise
Two men were dying across town from one another. One was a very wealthy man who had amassed and enjoyed a fortune. His Victorian house was lavishly furnished with antiques and expensive paintings. A stylish car sat outside the door, and a boat was on the nearby lake. The second man had never flourished financially, but he had loved the Lord and worked faithfully in the village church.
The first, as he died, moaned, “I’m leaving home. . . . I’m leaving home.”
The second died with a glow on his face, saying, “I’m going home. I’m going home”
The reason that Abraham could have such a remarkable faith was that he trusted in God’s promises. He knew that God was faithful.
Hebrews 11:11
He knew that God was faithful, because God showed it to him all the time. God provided the Promised Land that he spoke of and was faithful to His promise. God was faithful to bless Abraham with many descendants the way that God had promised. Abraham had no doubt that some way or another God would be faithful.
We need to learn plainly that God is faithful to His promises. That thought should change the way that we think and the way that we act. Since God is faithful to His promises we can rest assured that the promises that we can claim he is faithful to as well. Since we can read through the Bible and see God constantly being faithful to His promises we have no reason to doubt him now. We can rest assured that God will be faithful when he says that he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear and will provide a way out. We can rest assured that God will be faithful to his promise to send His son back for His people and His coming judgment on the world. We can rest assured that God is faithful to His promise to remove our sin as far as the east is from the west. We can rest assured that God is faithful to His promise to provide for us and take care of us. We can trust God’s promises by faith.
Trusting in God’s promises should change our whole perspective on life. Trusting in God’s promise should inspire us to be faithful to God’s commands knowing that we can take God at his word. Trusting in God’s promises should change our perspective on eternity. With the promise of Heaven to look forward to we do not have to worry or doubt because God is faithful to His promises and what reason would He have not to be faithful to that promise to those who obey Him.
III. Abraham’s Faith Led Him to Obedience in All Things
a. Even When He Could Not See
Abraham trusted God when he called him out of his homeland. He had no idea where he was headed or where the land that God would give him would be; yet he trusted in God when he could not see where he was headed. He trusted in a God who he could not see.. Abraham walked by faith and not by sight.
I have never seen the glory of God as Moses did, I have seen the nail holes in Jesus’ hands as Thomas did, I have never heard the voice of God and the Spirit descend on Jesus like the disciples did, and I have never had a heavenly vision like John did. I have never seen God, but I know He is there. I have never seen Heaven, but I know it is there because I believe it by faith. I have banked my entire earthly life on the fact that God’s Word is accurate.
How can we believe something whole-heartedly that we cannot see? How could Abraham have such an incredible faith even when he could not see where God was leading Him? Much of what we do we do it by faith. We come to church and live the way that we do because we have faith that God’s Word is accurate and that God really exists. I want to tell you today though that if you have faith that God’s Word is accurate and that God really exists, that should play forth in how you live your life and what you choose to do. Having faith should change out lives drastically. If you have faith, but don’t live the life that God has called you to live, then that is a pretty silly thing. Faith demands obedience even when we cannot see.
b. Even When He Did Not Understand
One of the promises that God gave to Abraham was that he was going to give him a son, and through him would come many descendants. God blessed Abraham with a son named Isaac. Isaac grew older, and one day God came to Abraham and said, “take your son, your only son whom you love and offer him as a burnt offering to me.” If I was Abraham I would be confused. I would be thinking, “but God you told me you would give me a son and he would have many descendants.” I may be thinking that is not too fair, or I may just be thinking there is no way on this green Earth I will do that. My prayer may be, “Lord, I will do anything for you, you know I love you, I would do anything but that.”
I love hypothetical situations. A lot of times I will be with Stephanie and will ask her, “Would you do that for a million dollars.” If she says no I will increase the prize for doing it. Usually Stephanie is more conservative than me. For me there isn’t much I wouldn’t do aside from compromising my morals.
It would be quite a hard test of faith though for God to call someone to sacrifice their only child. Stephanie being pregnant with our first child has been am amazing experience. Every day I look more forward to our daughter being here. I don’t know if it because it is the first child or not, but I am so excited. It is amazing how much we could love someone we have never seen before. I couldn’t imagine the dilemma that would come if God asked me to sacrifice my child.
For Abraham he showed that his love, faith, and obedience to God came even above a child whom he loved dearly. Incidentally God never calls us to do something that he wouldn’t; do. He did sacrifice he one and only son.
The text doesn’t tell us what all went through Abraham’s mind, but I would assume that night was a tough night. I would bet he wrestled with doubts and questions. I am sure he didn’t exactly understand why God would do that, what profit would come from it. I am sure he thought that God promised to bless him through Isaac. He may not have known how that was possible if he was going to sacrifice Isaac, but in Hebrews 11 it says that Abraham reasoned that God was going to raise him from the dead. Abraham had every intention of being obedient to God and sacrificing his son. All the text tells us is that early the next morning Abraham got up and prepared to go. Abraham didn’t need all the answers to his questions, he didn’t need to know why, all he needed to know was that God said it and that settled it. His faith was put to the test and shown for what it really was.
There are times in life when we don’t understand everything. Perhaps we don’t understand why God allowed something to happen. Perhaps we don’t understand what God is doing in our lives. The truth is that it doesn’t matter if we understand. Our faith needs to come down to we may not understand, but we trust in God no matter what because he is faithful.
We go through trials and difficulties on many occasion during our lives and sometimes have a hard time understanding why.
Have you ever seen a blacksmith work with a piece of iron? He holds it in the fire to soften it and make it pliable. That is exactly why God permits the testing of your faith by temptations and trials. He wants you to acquire patience, to acquire pliability. If you and I are constantly out of the fire of affliction, we become stiff and useless. God wants to reshape us according to His image.
In the end it doesn’t come down to why is God doing the things that he does, but rather how do we respond to Him. We are called to be faithful regardless of the external things that are taking place in life. Hard times in life, or a lack of understanding the whys and the questions that we have is not a justification for unfaithfulness. It is our duty to be faithful all the time. That faith that we have in God should motivate us to being obedient in everything.
Abraham’s faith led him to obey not just for a time but for his entire life. He had a faith that persevered until the end.
Hebrews 11:13
